An Accidental Discovery
by RionAgrias
Summary: The one time he chooses to break routine to go to a party after work, he finds something much more exciting to do after classes and work than pretending to care for family and friends.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1- An Accidental Discovery**_

If I owned any aspects of Persona... I just don't

Souji is in my spell-check and I am not risking the Yu, "you" problems that might happen. Some ages in this story are slightly illogical because canon is… well you should know that we have left canon far behind when Atlus made Q canon. Anything past that, well ignore that, too.

What that whole spiel above was saying: It's as canon as a musket.

Side-note #1: Canon-years are… non-existent. Also, do not expect me to know the layouts of places I have not been. Oh, since I don't know the layout of Tokyo very well, I'll keep it very, very, very vague. Consider it like I have not played Devil Survivor, vague.

Oh… I'll do my best to keep it T (shouldn't be too hard, right?)

 _Souji's thoughts_

* * *

 _ **April- Tokyo University**_

A young man with silver hair cut in a short bowl sighed as he doodled in a notebook filled with calculations, formulas, and notes. He sat, clad in long black pants and a black jacket over a white shirt, in the back row of an expansive lecture hall filled with uncomfortable chairs that fit into something that resembled long white counters instead of desks. All the chairs faced a single podium with a large whiteboard plastered behind it. The silver-haired young man in the lecture hall was accompanied by maybe fifteen other students, all scattered among the room. At the podium, filling in for the professor, was a wizened guest speaker droning in about his exploits of engineering forty years in the past.

His doodle was slowly becoming a masterpiece for the ages as he waited for the speaker to finish. He had paid attention for the first ten minutes, but now his attention was focused on anywhere but on the speaker. It was really disappointing, if only because how simple and easy everything was to him.

He thought his years at Tokyo University would be a lot harder than his previous schooling. His high school classes were so easy he was able to sleep though them and still test to the top position every single term. His entrance exam into his first choice university was the same drivel as everything else, extremely easy and boring. It was not even worth taking the practice exams and attending cram school. The only thing that had a chance of keeping him out of Tokyo University was him falling asleep during the exam. He made it into the university for more of a challenge, but he found that most of his classes were just as boring as ever. The silver-haired young man had even chosen a more difficult career to pursue, but he still could not find enjoyment in his classes. It was all… so easy, and that was so boring.

It probably would have been more interesting if he had more friends, but he could count the number of his friends on one hand, and that included acquaintances. It probably did not help that none of them were in his career track, either. It did not matter, though. As soon as he finished this year and the next year, he would be finished with Tokyo University and then he could move onto the boring grind of work.

There was no specific bell, but eventually the guest speaker lifted up his head to look at the large analog clock that hung behind the back row. When he saw that it was fifteen minutes past when the class was supposed to end, he ended his speech with another long-winded, superfluous spiel that lasted five minutes. When the guest finally stopped speaking and dismissed the class, the silver-haired young man put away his doodles into a slightly-oversized school bag and headed for the exit of lecture hall.

The young man did not even acknowledge the other students as he headed towards the door. In reality, he was surprised half of them even bothered showing up to today's waste of a class. Whether they had shown up or not did not really matter to him, he just continued towards the exit.

The moment he stepped through the door, into the first-floor hallway, a tenor voice rushed into his left ear, "Souji!"

Souji turned in the direction of the voice to see one of the few people he could almost consider a friend walking towards him. The friend was wearing blue pants and a frilly white shirt with something that resembled a stemless red rose plastered over where the left shirt pocket would be. He responded to his friend's exclamation, "Teddie… what are you doing in this building?"

 _It's a valid question…_

It was a valid question for two reasons. The first reason his friend with short blond hair gelled to the side was not expected to be in this building was because he was not going for a career that had anything to do with mathematics or science. The second reason he did not expect to see Teddie in this building was that the concept of attending class was a foreign one to him. As soon as he entered the university, a year after Souji entered, he spent most of the days partying and chasing girls. It did seem more interesting that what he usually did, but it was rather reckless. He still never knew how Teddie made it into this university in the first place.

Despite Teddie's shortcomings, Souji still considered him something close to a friend. He considered him a friend just for the fact that he was more interesting than most of the other people in the university. He was just someone to talk to when he got sick of the boring students, professors, and others in the department.

Teddie broke Souji out of any thoughts the silver-haired young man might have had when he answered, "I can't come see one of my friends?" He frowned. "That's so… cold."

Souji rolled his eyes and then apologized, "Okay, okay… I'm sorry." He looked at the blond. "So… what's up? How was last night's party?"

Teddie held massive parties every weekend at the place he rented with his two roommate, one his age, and the other a year older. The parties he held were usually the reason Teddie missed his Monday classes. He was not averse to holding weekday parties either. It was just up to however the young man in his second year of university was feeling that day.

Teddie's face produced a wide smile at Souji's question. He responded. "It was great. There were over twenty people at our place yesterday"

"That's not the most important part…," Souji folded his arms. He felt other students pass the two of them behind, going to other classes, to a cafeteria, or back to their residences.

"Oh…," Teddie quickly realized what Souji meant. He nodded and gave a short response. "Yep…"

 _That means… there was at least one or more pretty girls there. The question now was… did he succeed, or did one of his housemates steal his thunder? Perhaps… they all struck out?_

"As long as you had a good time," Souji told Teddie.

Teddie nodded, but said. "We missed you, though. You were working, right?"

Souji gave a nod of his own, "I didn't finish my shift until late… I wouldn't have been able to meet up with you until after the party was almost over…"

Teddie shook his head, "I doubt you would arrive at the end of the party." He quickly added. "I think… you're working too hard, Souji. You're always working…"

Souji shifted his weight from one side to the other. He said, "I do spend more money on rent than you do."

"That's because you live alone, Souji…," Teddie murmured. The younger university student lifted his head and looked at Souji. His voice picked up slightly as he said. "Why don't you find some to time to relax? Do something fun for yourself, even if you don't attend one of my parties… or if you want, you can attend one of my parties? It'll be fun. I'm sure Yosuke and Kanji would be happy to see you, too…"

 _Teddie's housemates… It's not like attending a party wouldn't be interesting, or a bad thing. It's not like I want to get drunk off my ass, or something like that, though…_

After a few seconds, Souji shrugged, "If I have some time after my next shift on Friday or Saturday, I'll try and head your way…"

Teddie smiled again, "It'll be good to see you there." He continued. "I'll be sure to find someone nice to attend one of the get-togethers over the weekend."

 _He means pretty girls… If anyone can do it…_

Souji put his hand in his right pocket and pulled out his smartphone. He pressed the button on the side to wake it from its slumber. His eyes widened, albeit very slightly. He looked back to Teddie, "Teddie… don't you have class starting in a little less than two minutes?"

 _Mine starts in sixteen minutes…_

Teddie quickly looked at his own phone. After an extremely short panic attack, he bid Souji farewell, and headed out towards one of the Liberal Arts buildings.

 _I wonder if he'll get there in time… probably not…_

Souji tightened his grip on his faux-leather bag and turned away from where Teddie had been standing. He maneuvered around students who were walking in the opposite direction, or just milling around to walk towards and up to the second floor where his second class was. He walked up the wooden steps with rubber protectors over each step to reach the second floor.

He made it into the third room on the right with plenty of time to spare. He took a seat about halfway through the third row, far away from any of the other students who attended his class. The other students were only potential distractions and annoyances. The only advantage of this class was the petite female professor with short sea foam-green hair.

 _At least the professor is cute…_

The cute professor was the best part of class, even if the curriculum was slightly more challenging than the last. He was able to stay focused enough to take notes, and not doodle… too much. However, as soon as the class ended, he still grabbed his bag and left the room without speaking to any of the other students. The other classmates were just not very interesting to him.

Souji only had two classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. For that reason, after he left his second class, he also left the building, and finally headed for the gate to leave the university. He walked down an asphalt path to pass through the wrought iron gate to leave his school behind for another day. He kept walking towards the train station, as he gazed at the little shops along the way. He stopped for only a moment to grab a quick handheld bite from a stand on his way to the train.

Souji's gait slowed for the two minutes it took for him to finish his late lunch. When he did finish, he headed down the stairs, into the station to ride the train. After he headed down the stairs, he stuck his hand in his pocket to pull his ticket out of his wallet and get through the barrier. He quickly moved to the left side of the station to wait for the next train.

The reason why he was in a hurry as he stepped onto an only somewhat crowded train was because his day was anything from winding down. He was not headed home. Instead, the train he was riding would be taking him to his part-time job that would help pay the rent for his residence. It was one of the jobs that stopped him from being able to attending Teddie's parties, if he ever felt like attending one of them. However, his focus was instead on earning the money he needed for shelter, food, and other utilities. That was why he stood, held onto an arm bar, and waited for the train to reach a different station.

When the train stopped for the fourth time after Souji stepped on, the silver-haired young man stepped off in an area quite different than the one he left from a short while ago. The shops, markets, and stands that Souji walked by were of a little a different sort, as well. He went through multiple large crosswalks, filled with ever-changing billboards and large buildings.

However, his part-time work had nothing to do with this area. The only thing he had to do with the various shops and stands was walk by them as he instead walked towards the large multi-story building in the distance. As the building came into view, the definitive word of "Hospital" could be seen on the highest floor to the far right. Souji kept moving towards the hospital, eventually entering through the Main Entrance's sliding doors. Now in the lobby, he headed to the nearest restroom, and to the closest stall. He put his oversized school bag on the floor, and then proceeded to pull out a janitor's uniform. He quickly changed into the required clothes, putting the clothes he wore to school back in his bag. He reached into the bag one more time to pull out his ID.

He left the restroom, headed to the nearest elevator, and pressed the button for the third floor to reach the Medical Floor. As soon as the door opened, a sterile smell reached his nostrils. He stepped out of the elevator onto a tiled surface with white walls and repeating rectangular windows. He stopped briefly to use his ID at the lavish staff room to drop off his bag before he grabbed a cart filled with cleaning supplies, bucket, and mop. He ignored the other nurses and doctors running about, billing, dealing with codes, and in general being way too busy to notice a part-time janitor.

After he obtained all of his supplies, Souji went straight to the window closest to the staff room, pull a rag and a bottle of window cleaner out of his cart, and proceed to clean the rectangular window. It was slow and monotonous work, but it was something that would pay him good and reliable money. Still, it was really, really boring.

 _One done, forty-nine to go… in his hallway. Three hallways to go… At least this hospital is a lot quieter later in the day and evenings._

Halfway down the first hallway, Souji heard a seductive voice emanating from the room parallel to the window he was currently cleaning, "Souji-kun…"

 _Oh great… Sayoko…_

Souji slowly turned his head, and then the rest of his body to look into the room. Inside the room was an elderly male comatose patient in hospice, but also an attractive female nurse in her late-twenties with dark hair tied in a ponytail. Her white and purple nurse's uniform was also a little too tight-fitting, but it might have just been the white hat she was wearing.

Souji sighed and used his off-hand to drag his cart towards the room behind him. He let go of the cart one step into the room, and continued until he only a short distance from the nurse who had called out to him. He said to her, "Uehara-san…"

The nurse standing in front of Souji smiled and said, "Call me Sayoko, Souji-kun…"

Souji nodded, "As you wish, Sayoko-san…" He asked, "How can I help you?"

Sayoko chuckled and answered, "Do you really want me to answer that?"

 _Not really…_

"I told you the first time we met…," Sayoko started. "That it's pretty lonely here at night…"

"Sayoko-san…," Souji put on a much more mature tone than hers.

Sayoko frowned, but for only a second. "Of course…" She put on a much more serious tone. "The room next door… the patient there was just discharged. I need you to clean it up before we receive another admission."

"Sure… no problem…," Souji nodded.

Before Souji could turn back around to put his hands to his the cart to go and clean the room, he heard Sayoko's suggestive voice one more time, "If you change your mind… you know where to find me…"

 _Actually… you probably have multiple patients, there's a break room, or you could be writing a report… I'd be looking for a while._

Souji just shook his head in response and headed out the door to go to the adjacent room. As he entered, he made sure there were sanitary gloves in his cart. It was a messy set of bedding.

 _This is a job for the Aides, nah… at least this is more interesting than school…_

Hours later, after he clocked out in the staff room, he headed back down the elevator to the first floor while still wearing his poor-man's scrubs. It was not worth the time at the moment to change back into the clothes he wore to university, so he continued out the elevator. He left through the Emergency Room exit, only because the Main Entrance closed down in the evening. From the hospital exit, Souji took the same route in reverse, back to the station where he left for work. He headed down two sets of stairs, used his ticket to get through the barrier, and moved to the other side of the tracks. He needed to catch that train if he wanted to get back to his residence.

After stepping on the next train, he threw his over-sized school bag on one the overhead compartments. Luckily, the car he stepped in was completely empty, so there was plenty of room for his bag. He was even able to sit down, an unheard of abnormality in the morning or afternoon.

He rode this train for twice as many stops than he did to go from the university to the hospital, and that was before he changed trains and lines to travel for four more stops. At the fourth stop on the second line, he pulled his bag out of the overhead and stepped into a more residential area. He passed towering, modern-looking apartment buildings, every single unit far beyond a university student's price range. After going through three crosswalks, he stopped at a much smaller building than any of the other buildings. The building he stopped at also looked older, a little run-down, the green paint starting to peel off in some of the dividers between units.

Souji closed his eyes for only a moment before grasping onto the iron railing of the cement staircase. He climbed up to the third floor, and stepped off to the walkway on the open side of the floor, covered only by an overhang and a continuation of the iron rail. He stopped in front of Unit 307, and dug in his bag for a set of keys. He inserted the key first in the lock that would undo the deadbolt, and then the inserted the key in the lock that would allow him to turn the handle. After the locks were undone, he opened the reinforced wooden door to enter his apartment unit. He entered the doorway of a slightly-rundown unit that he had been living in since a short while before he graduated from high school.

As he took off his shoes and picked up an envelope, pushed through the mail slot, that gave notice of his monthly rent, he looked beyond the entryway into his overpriced for this condition, underpriced, old three-room unit. Against the back wall was a mish-mash set of cheap kitchen equipment, including a small stove, combo fridge/freezer, and sink to wash the dishes. There were also drawers under the counters for silverware, and a single small cabinet for the dishes. There was a small blue couch on the right side of the room, one arm against the wall, with a cheap TV facing the open side of the couch. On the left side of the room had a small wooden desk with a flimsy chair where he did most of his projects, homework, and such. He did most of his homework late at night on a low-end computer with slow internet access because he did not get back from work until well past dinnertime. Near the desk was a futon of a similar color to his couch and a small dresser. Close to the futon was a door that lead to sort of a guest room that contained another blue futon and another dresser, exact copies of the ones in the main room. Between the futon in the main room and the door that led to the guest room was a second door that led to a small bathroom. There were the basic necessities, like a shower, toilet, and sink, but nothing beyond a hamper in regards to washing clothes. If he wanted to wash clothes, he would have to go back down to the first floor to Unit 100. It was not the greatest-looking apartment, but it was habitable.

Souji moved towards his futon, and left his bag there. He quickly discarded his work clothes, and then went to the bathroom to throw them in the hamper. From the hamper, he walked to the dresser, and threw on gray sweatpants and a white long-sleeved shirt. The silver-haired young man went to what could be considered his makeshift kitchen and pulled out some leftovers he had made. After he pulled out a plate and silverware, he transferred some of the leftovers to the plate, and headed to the couch to eat something that resembled like a meal. He washed the dish and silverware after consuming his very late dinner. From there, he went to his desk pull out some materials to study for his Tuesday and Thursday classes. He had weekly quizzes in his first class, so he needed to be ready.

 _It's going to be a long night._

Souji finally hit futon well into Tuesday, but sleep never came easy. His thoughts were filled with the reason why he moved into this single unit during his final year before he went to university. It all came down to his family situation, and his parents' work situation. His parents' work forced them to constantly move for long periods at a time. For those long periods of time, Souji would be shuttled around to friends, or whatever family member was willing to take him in for a short while. Every time he was forced somewhere else, it meant he left his friends behind, his school behind, and any other semblance of a relationship with anyone. For that reason, Souji found it was not worth connecting with people, both at his original school, and wherever he was sent. He was just going to be sent somewhere else, so it was not worth making friendships.

The last straw that forced him into isolation was a more than a few years back, the last time he did try and make a friend or two. He was taken in by his uncle in a rural town. He was a single father who was somewhat neglectful towards to his daughter. Therefore, Souji became close to his cousin, and eventually his uncle. He was forced to go there, but then forced to go back to return after a year. It was as if there was no point in making friends with his cousin or uncle that he had not seen since the day he had left.

As time went on, and the more times he had been sent away, Souji became more self-efficient than a normal teenager. When he believed he had necessary tools to live on his own, Souji moved away one last time. This time, however, it was to live by himself. He would be self-sufficient, and he would not have to worry about being moved here or there. The only contact he had with his parents was a small monthly stipend that came a week before rent was due. The stipend was enough for food bills, not the rent. That was the reason why he took jobs like the one at the hospital. He needed money to pay for rent, tuition, and other necessities. It was not desirable, but better than moving around every year.

It was not as if he truly wanted isolation from everyone. He had a guest room for a reason. His cousin was supposed to start at university this year, and she was supposed to have checked in with him before the year started. According to his uncle, there was a plan for her to room with him, even for the simplest offering of Souji repaying the kindness of the two of them letting him stay with them a few years back.

The problem was that his cousin never checked in with Souji, and she was obviously staying somewhere else. She was not attending Tokyo University. She was attending an all-girls university, so Souji could not find her through a student directory. According to his uncle, she did not even carry a cell phone, or at least he did not know the number if she did have one. In other words, it was a lot of effort and time Souji did not have to expend. He was sure he would run into her at some point, even in a city as big as this. He would figure it out, and maybe she would finally be his roommate like his uncle wanted him to. It would make his breakfasts better, for sure. It was something that Souji could not worry about, though.

Tuesday morning involved Souji hurrying through his daily ritual of washing up, dressing in similar to clothes to what he wore to school yesterday, and making toast and sunny-side up eggs. The breakfast dish was taught to him by his cousin that lived in that rural town. After putting his plates in the sink, he put the necessary notes and books for his classes in his school bag, along with his work clothes for the night. Before he left his room, Souji went to his desk, opened the bottom drawer, and pulled out the necessary amount of money and put it in an envelope.

He locked up his unit after getting his rent money together, first the regular lock, and then the deadbolt. He stopped by the Office, which was next to the Laundry Unit 100, to drop the rent off. His trip to school was a two-line switch where they were packed like sardines. It required people to use paddles to squish businessmen, women, and students into the trains. He arrived just in time to get a decent seat for his class, and just in time to ace the quiz. It also gave him time to listen to his teacher drone about design. The second class, it was not so different than the first, minus the quiz.

 _Another A, another day… more notes, more preparation for the workforce…_

It was much of the same for the afternoon, night, and the next couple of days. He went to work at the hospital, took notes while half-listening to the instructors, and came back to eat hastily prepared meals from the mornings or the weekend. The only difference in those next two-and a-half days was a quiz in a different course on Thursday, and the fact he did his laundry when he got back from work that day as well. Despite those two anomalies, he expected Friday to be pretty much the same, too. Saturday was always different because he did not have any classes on Saturday. Though, something could always change. For some ridiculous reason, he could give into Sayoko's teasing or something.

Souji only had his second out of the two classes he normal had on Monday and Wednesday on Friday. After listening to the cutest professor he had for as long as he could bear listening to her, Souji left the lecture hall after putting away his notes and books into the oversized bag. As he left the hall, just as Monday, he again was beset by a voice that called out from his right side, "Souji!"

The silver-haired young man turned around to see someone different than the one who called out to him on Monday. It was however, someone who lived and frequently partied with Teddie. It was a young man with fluffy brown hair who was in the same year as Souji was. He wore red pants, a white shirt with red patterns, and a medium-dense jacket with faux-fur around the hood. His grades were better than Teddie's, and he was going to probably earn a fair bit more money than Teddie after the two roommates finished school. There was a better chance Yosuke would find a steady job, settle down with a single girl, and be a normal member of society. Souji just felt that there was this chance Teddie might never settle down in any one thing, job or woman.

Regardless of his thoughts on anything, Souji looked at Yosuke and said, "Yosuke… How's it going?"

Yosuke nodded slightly, while showing a slight smirk. The students from Souji's "second" class, as well any of the others that released at that same time filed past the pair. The fluffy brown-haired young man said, "Teddie and I decided to have our weekly party tonight. Do you think you can make it tonight?"

 _Tonight… Could I even make it back from work in time?_

Souji frowned slightly before he answered, "I don't know. I don't think I will get out of the hospital until your party is well underway…"

Yosuke shrugged his shoulders in response, "It's going to last a long time. Arriving late won't mean too much…"

"That's true," Souji nodded. "I guess I could just come in after work…"

Yosuke gave something that looked like a friendly smile, "Cool… it'll be nice to finally have you attend one of our parties…"

"Alright…," Souji said. He shifted his weight, crossing his arms. "I just have to remember exactly where you live…" Souji shook his head before Yosuke could remind him. "I know pretty much where you live, so I'll be fine…"

"If you need help…," Yosuke started to explain.

Souji cut him off, "No… I'll just listen for the rambunctious noise that permeates through the city…"

Yosuke let out a small chuckle, "Can't wait to see you there…"

 _We'll see… I'll just need to hurry my ass out of the hospital…_

After his conversation with Yosuke, he hurried out of the university just like he always he did after his classes. He picked up a quick bite on the way down to the station to take the train to the hospital. After he left the train, he started the long walk towards the hospital. He changed once he entered, and took the elevator to go to the staff room to clock in. Souji grabbed his cart and cleaning supplies, and headed out of the staff room to clean windows, floors, and recently-vacated rooms that Sayoko asked him to clean.

 _Thankfully, she's not teasing me today… Must be busy…_

After long hours at his hospital, Souji clocked out, and headed down via the elevator. The only difference from the norm was that he changed back into his regular clothes in the hospital before he left, instead of changing back into different clothes when he returned home. He headed out of the Emergency Room exit, ID card and scrubs in his large bag.

Souji had a good reason to return to his black pants, white shirt, and thin black jacket attire. If he was really going to try and catch part of that party, there was no reason for him to wear work clothes to that soiree. He would feel even more out of place than usual if he stuck out like a sore thumb.

Even though it was late, and the party was probably already in full-swing, Souji did not head straight back to the station. Instead, he started walking a little in the opposite direction of the station, past the hospital, for one reason. It was because you could not attend a party without an offering, especially if you were coming in late. At least, that is what Souji thought.

The area past the hospital was highly commercialized with a mix of high-rise buildings and much smaller buildings. All of the buildings were brightly lit and was a sight for the eyes. There was a twenty-story building with different stores on every floor, while specialty shops and cafes stood out with bright signs. Souji was not looking for a large mall, or a café. He was looking for a simple convenience store. He probably could have gone back the other way. He would have found what he needed on the way to the station. He just believed he it would be easier by going this way, for some reason. The next station was not that far off, anyways.

 _If I arrive a few minutes later than I expected to, it won't matter too much…_

He jostled around other people in a somewhat busy street, all trying to get back home after work. He could at least see pretty easily, any of the darkness erased by the illumination of the surrounding buildings. His eyes looked around as he shuffled around the others returning home from work. He knew there was a store nearby, near one of the karaoke bars, or some other kind of bar. His destination was somewhere close, and he would find it soon enough.

Souji stopped at a crossroads with a few other people waiting to cross the street, and took a gander diagonally first to his right, and then his left. On the right, in plain sight, his eyes caught sight of a small well-lit convenience store standing next to a fancy-looking two-story karaoke bar. To his left, he saw a medium-sized alleyway that was faintly illuminated by something inside of the alley.

 _Finally, there's that store… though…_

As the light turned green, Souji headed across the street so he could walk over to the store. As he walked, he pursed his lips. He did feel a little curious at what was in that alley. It could always be something out there where he would head as far away as possible, but it could be something exciting, too. Regardless, he stopped after finishing crossing the road, and did not continue straight to the convenience store. He instead decided to turn to the left to cross the street again to investigate what building was causing the light.

 _You know… it could always be some random guy with a flashlight, waiting to rob whoever heads down there._

As the opposite streetlight turned green, Souji took a deep breath and headed across the opposite street. There were very few people that again crossed the street with him. The ones were walking with him turned right to continue on to some store or restaurant after they finished crossing the street. He, however, continued straight into the alley. Ten steps in, he stopped in his tracks. His mouth opened slightly.

The light that Souji noticed from a distance grew brighter as he looked forward. The origin of that light was not a single light, but many criss-crossing lights. The lights were connected and surrounded to an extensively large two-story building that seemed to be painted mainly white and gold. The building's outer entryway and doors was arched, and there were white pillars, sloped off, that supported the exterior of the building. It was an extravagant-looking building, but Souji still had no idea what the building actually was.

 _What exactly is this place?_

Souji took another deep breath and walked closer, looking for a sign on the building. As he closed in on the building, and the entryway, he looked at the edge of the arches. There was a sign in not quite neon colors that displayed, "PDHC"

 _PDHC? What's that?_

Souji was confused at the sign, but also interested at what it might be. He took another step forwards, and then another until he closed in on the entrance. Souji saw that right at the front of the entrance was sort of a hostess stand, and at the stand sat a young-looking petite person. The person sitting at the stand was a boy or girl with quite short navy blue hair, Souji was not quite sure, that was wearing navy blue pants and a navy blue jacket over some sort of undershirt. On top of the host or hostess's head was a short-brimmed navy blue hat that probably inhibited some people's guesses of that person's gender.

 _Whatever this place is… this person knows what it is… Judging that it looks like a host/hostesses stand, I'm guessing it's a club or a restaurant._

Souji walked forward until he stopped a few steps before the person at the stand. He looked up to the person who met his dark eyes with their own. Souji took a short breath and questioned the young person, "Uh… I'm not exactly sure where I am… What exactly is PDHC?"

The person sitting at the stand looked down at Souji and answered shortly, "PDHC? PDHC stands for Persona… sorry… I mean Personal Dream Hostess Club…"

 _Hostess…. I'm at a Hostesses' Café?_

* * *

 _ **Next Chapter: The First Discovery**_

I found this on an old flash drive when transferring things around. So… I thought I'd post this while I do work, catch up on other things, and try to finish five other stories.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2- The First Discovery**_

If I owned any aspects of Persona... I just don't

Souji is in my spell-check and I am not risking the Yu, "you" problems that might happen. Some ages in this story are slightly illogical because canon is… well you should know that we have left canon far behind when Atlus made Q canon. Anything past that, well ignore that, too.

What that whole spiel above was saying: It's as canon as a musket.

Side-note #1: Canon-years are… non-existent. Also, do not expect me to know the layouts of places I have not been. Oh, since I don't know the layout of Tokyo very well, I'll keep it very, very, very vague. Consider it like I have not played Devil Survivor, vague.

Oh… I'll do my best to keep it T (shouldn't be too hard, right?)

 _Souji's thoughts_

* * *

 _ **Friday Evening: PDHC**_

The person sitting at the stand looked down at Souji and answered shortly, "PDHC? PDHC stands for Persona… sorry… I mean Personal Dream Hostess Club…"

 _Hostess…. I'm at a Hostesses' Café?_

To say that Souji was a little confused would be an understatement. He only half-remembered how he got here. He was heading to a convenience store to pick up something for a party when he got distracted by a pretty light, and he somehow ended up at Hostesses Café. He was not even really sure how that sort of café really worked. He knew it was not like a Karaoke Bar or something like that. All he really knew about it was that it was that you had to be an adult to visit one, and that it was as expensive as none other to spend time there. It was also supposedly an addictive place for lonely guys that needed companionship. It was expensive enough that the people who were addicted could be drained of their funds very quickly. He was not really sure who this person in front of him was, if it was a guy or girl, or what exactly he was going to do about it.

 _So… what the hell am I supposed to do now? It's probably best if I just turn back around and just go to that party… It'd probably be okay if I don't even bother heading to that convenience store._

Souji took a deep breath while adjusting the shoulder strap of his large work/school bag as he stood under the arched entryway that led to the arched wooden doorway. He prepared himself to step away from the building, to go to the station so he could head to the party. Before he could turn around to go to Yosuke and Teddie's party, he was interrupted by an older-sounding male voice that said to him, "Excuse me…"

Souji backed away slightly while turning his head to see a taller individual with black hair that came down to his shoulder. The black hair had flecks of gray in it. The older man ignored Souji as he went straight to the door-person that Souji had question only a few seconds before. The older man opened up his wallet, pulled a mysterious-looking card out from the wallet, and handed the card to the door-person. Souji tried to listen in on their conversation.

"Is Yumi available today?" the older man asked. He continued. "If she's not…"

The door-person nodded, "Yumi… she's here tonight." The guardian of the café continued. "Though… if you still want to see the…"

"No… Yumi is the girl I want to see….," the man said. "I don't need to see that placard list of the others. If Yumi is available, then I don't need to see the others…"

The doorperson shrugged, and then proceeded to explain, "Okay then… Your tab will start at 5,000 as always for the visit. From there, the bill will increase for any drinks and food purchased, as well as an increase in time."

 _Sounds expensive…_

The older man rolled his eyes, "I know that…"

The blue-haired, hat-wearing guardian of the door nodded, stamped the card, and then handed it back to the man, "Two more visits and you will become a Silver member of PDHC." The door-person grabbed hold of a walkie-talkie device or something similar and said. "Yumi… you've been chosen…" After a confirmation came through, the door-person looked to the older man and said. "Enjoy your stay at the Personal Dream Hostesses Club."

 _Enjoy your stay? That makes it sounds like a Love Hotel… Silver Member? So there are multiple levels of addiction? You visit here a bunch of times, and you get goodies or something?_

As weird as it sounded to Souji, the idea that this guy really wanted to see that one specific girl no matter what was kind of crazy to him. He had a picture in his head that this "Yumi" was a girl around his age, and the guy who just hired her was probably twice her age. It was kind of scary-sounding. However, he guessed that it was probably a pretty common thing to have that age discrepancy between the girl and guy.

"Hey! Yeah… you…," the person sitting at the lectern/pedestal broke Souji out of his thoughts. "Do you need anything else?"

"Huh?" Souji looked a little confused.

"I can't have you distracting potential customers if you plan on just standing there, looking all confused," the person said. "So… if you are planning on visiting, I'd prefer you let me know sooner rather than later."

 _What am I going to do? I'm leaving, aren't I? I don't have any other reason to be here…_

Souji knew he should probably just go back to the convenience store, but… he kind of also wanted to find out a little more about this place he had stumbled upon. He took a deep breath and prepared to kill the cat, "If you don't mind, can you explain what that card that guy pulled out and showed you does?"

The person manning the doorway answered, "It's a membership card a person obtains after attending the club for the first time. Each time the "member" comes back with their card for another session, the card is marked. After certain numbers of visits, the level of the card changes from Bronze, to Silver, and finally to Gold."

 _I guess I was right about that…_

"And what's the advantage of being a higher-leveled member?" Souji questioned, his arms crossed.

The blue-haired person sitting in front of Souji answered him, "Being a Silver-level member or Gold-level allows for better seating for you and the girl you choose, including possible VIP-seating at Gold-level. VIP-seating is more expensive, however. Also, higher levels mean more opportunities for a guest at our club, in terms of activities."

 _Huh…_

"Activities…," Souji said slowly. He still did not really know how one of these Hostesses sessions worked. He heard a little from the conversation between the doorperson and the older man, but he was not sure what exactly happened. He decided he wanted to know after all, so Souji questioned, "So… what exactly can a person do in a session? What exactly can you get charged for in your session?"

"Well… there is a base charge for the session, and there is a charge for extending the session. There are varying charges for drinks, and at least one drink, a drink for you and the girl you choose, is required. There is also optional food that can be bought, as well as karaoke. Some food items, as well as the karaoke are up to the girl if they will allow you to make that selection," the person behind the lectern explained. "It is not cheap to extend your session, order multiple drinks, or request a karaoke session. However, it is all up to your wallet, and in some cases… the girl's mood."

 _So if the girl doesn't like you that much, don't try anything crazy… and anything out there costs an arm and a leg…_

"Oh… that reminds me," the blue-haired door-person cut though Souji's thoughts. "No physical contact with the girls…"

 _And you can't touch them directly… though… if you visit them enough… maybe you can touch them with something indirectly? Hell, I don't know…_

Souji nodded in affirmation because he knew there would probably be a question if he had heard what was said. He thought about all that was explained, and he was sure that it was definitely the best thing for him to turn back around. It was just getting later, and later with every second that passed by.

Before Souji could turn around to leave, the doorperson reached under the lectern and pulled out both a fresh member card and a medium-sized whiteboard that seemed to have pictures of girls' faces velcroed or taped on. At the same time, the person in the dark blue pants and blue jacket said. "Now, I'm going to need to see some ID that shows you are of a legal age to purchase beverages, and such…"

 _Jeez… all those questions must have been taken as "I want to partake in a session…" What am I going to do?_

Souji found himself in a tough spot. With every second, and with every question, Souji found himself farther and farther away from being able to turn back around and head to the party. He had spent too much time asking questions about something he did not understand, and it would possibly cost him. There is a big chance it could bite him in the wallet, and he would need that money sooner or later. He knew there was only one way out of it, and it was not pleasant-sounding.

 _This is going to cost me…_

Souji begrudgingly pulled his wallet out of his pocket, removed his ID, and handed it over to the door-person. After the door-person looked it over, it was handed back, and Souji put it back in his wallet. The hat-wearing "guardian" of the door, handed over the whiteboard, "Welcome to the PDHC…" From the lectern, the door-person said, "Please choose a girl of your choice…"

Souji took hold of the whiteboard and looked down. On the board were the faces' of girls of all kinds. There were girls with short hair, long hair, and hair of all colors. Before he could take a good look at the girls, something else bothered him. There were a few girls that had lines through their names. There was also an "x" through Yumi's name, as well as a few others. Souji decided to ask about it, "Excuse me… what's with the crossed line through some of the girls' names…"

"If there is a line through a girl's name, that means they are not working today," the person at the lectern responded. "If there's an "x", then that means someone has currently chosen them, and they are currently unavailable."

Souji nodded in response and looked down to have a better look at the girls he would be choosing from. He first decided to take a better look at Yumi, since this girl was obviously someone that made that older guy's day, and if she was not there… it would be a bad day. When Souji looked, Yumi appeared to be a girl right around Souji's age, with black hair that stopped around the nape of her neck. However, her hairline was very high. It gave her the impression of a large forehead. She had a small, thin smile on her face in the picture.

 _Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. She's attractive, but not amazing… I wonder what her personality is like…_

He looked past Yumi's picture to look at the other girls. Many of them were nondescript, in Souji's eyes, at least. His eyes drifted to a brunette with her hair in a bowl cut. It was not normally a hairstyle that he went for when he went looking for girls, but she had a nice-looking face and that hairstyle seemed to work for her. He would have considered choosing her, but there was a line through the name, Chie. Past Chie's picture was another picture of an extremely pretty strawberry-blonde with what he guessed was probably perfect skin. Unfortunately, there was a line through, Ai's name, as well.

 _Figures…_

Souji was unsure if there was a single girl that would be worth his time, even if was being suckered into this. He decided to and ask more questions while looking over the girls. "Why are you only showing the faces of the girls? Don't you think that some of the people who come here make their decisions on more than their faces?"

The person facing Souji shrugged and said, "We decided faces were all that were needed for the choices. We did not want to put lower shots and for the customer to try and look for differences in body sizes, clothing, and such without being able to appreciate the hostesses' personality."

 _Clothes…_

Seeing Souji's confusion, the person added by guessing on what he was confused about, "There are standard uniforms as well as holiday uniforms. Higher level members have the ability to request special uniforms based on the time of the year."

 _I see… another reason to go broke, I guess…_

Souji nodded in understanding before going back to the handheld board. He took in the girls one more time, his eyes stopping at the picture of the girl on the bottom left. The girl on the bottom left was a pretty girl with long, silky black hair that extended to the end of her picture, and most likely beyond. Accentuating the long black hair of the hostess in the bottom right corner was a red headband. Overall, it was a pretty sight for Souji. It was pretty enough that if he was going to be stuck at this building for some amount of time, spending a good amount of money… he would rather spend it on this… Yukiko than any other girl offered. At least that girl over any other girl that was available at this point and time.

 _I just don't know what kind of personality this girl has. What if "Yukiko" is really mean, and she's only doing this to fund some shopping habit or something?_

Souji took a deep breath. He knew as soon as he chose a girl, there was no going back, and no going back for his wallet either. He just had to hope that, he was making the right choice with this girl. He closed his eyes as he told the person in front of him, "I guess I have decided on… Yukiko."

The blue-haired person with the short-brimmed hat nodded, checked off something on a paper list, and like before, spoke into the walkie talkie-like device. After a few seconds of conversation, the doorperson again pushed open one of the arched doors, "Have a good time... You pay when you finish…"

Souji nodded for a final time. As he prepared to walk through the door, he turned his head in the direction of the lectern and asked, "I never caught your name…"

"Naoto…," the person watching over the club responded somewhat slowly. "My name is Naoto…"

 _Can you have a more androgynous name?_

He put Naoto out of his mind with a short wave as he walked through the arched doors into the place that would drain him of a large amount of funds in a very short period of time. What he found was not exactly what he expected to find.

He stepped through the doors that led, first into a beautiful corridor, lit with wall-mounted lights and supported by marble columns. Walking through the burgundy-painted corridor with slightly darker carpet, he found himself in an expansive hall. The hall was many meters high, lit by large glass-covered chandeliers. The floor was covered by some sort of fancy burgundy carpet, and on top of the floor itself was many rectangular and circular tables with plush couches. In the back of the hall was a large roped-off floor with a karaoke machine and microphone adjacent to it. Far to the right and to the left of the karaoke floor were spiral staircases that led to an upper level with another set of circular tables and large plush couches. The walls were dotted with beautiful paintings that accentuated the light-colored walls. The impressive club hall he had walked into was not what truly impressed Souji. It was what he saw next.

 _Oh… wow…_

When he gazed straight ahead to point that was just past entrance corridor, Souji's eyes were greeted by two lines of girls standing in diagonal lines slowly leading away from him. The girls in the two lines, the ones he had not chosen from the board, were wearing black dresses with white aprons over the top. In other words, there were all wearing maid outfits with varying cuts up top. As he walked up towards the two girls that started the lines, they all bowed and simultaneously said, "Welcome!"

 _I think Teddie would have a heart attack… or would it just be blood loss? Even his parties don't have this many girls in one place…_

Even if believed his friend would have major issue being around all of those, it was not like Souji was immune to a little insecurity. His insecurity was going to increase very soon, and Souji knew it would as soon as the girl he had chosen appeared.

Souji ignored any of his growing insecurities and nodded back at the welcoming young women in maid uniforms. However, as soon as his head returned to its natural position, his dark eyes met the eyes of another pair of dark eyes, standing in the middle of the two lines of girls. As Souji broke the gaze, he saw that the eyes belonged to a young woman with long black hair, set by a red headband. Her maid uniform had a high cut, revealing very little of her collarbone, and nothing more. It was quite the sight, regardless of the cut of her dress.

 _Oh jeez… She's pretty…_

This pretty girl had to be the one Souji had chosen, Yukiko, and so far… it looked like Souji made a good choice. At least from a physical aspect, he already felt like he had made the right decision over one of the other girls standing in those two lines.

Souji's thoughts and musings were interrupted by the black-haired hostess. She said to him, "Welcome… It's a pleasure to see you…"

Souji was momentarily lost for words. He was not sure how to respond. Yukiko seemed to sense his unease, and his obvious inexperience. She said in a calming voice, "If you would like to follow me, we will find a booth…"

Souji slowly nodded in her statement and started to walk towards her. Before he made it halfway to where she stood, Yukiko turned around and started walking in the direction of the various light red plush booths and tables covered with white linen. She stopped in front of one of the small rectangular tables with a small plush couch on either side. Souji stopped a short distance away, and looked over at the pretty girl. As he did, Yukiko motioned for him to take a seat in the couch closest to him.

 _I guess I should sit down…_

Souji nodded and slid into his seat. The plush couch was extremely comfortable, and he had to make sure not to slide down too far because he was afraid that if his posture waned too far; he would fall asleep. On the other side, Souji's chosen hostess took her own seat, exactly parallel to him. With Yukiko sitting close to him, Souji was finally able to get a better look at her. As he pulled his gray eyes away from her silky black hair and red headband, he realized just how beautiful her skin looked. It seemed kind of weird to notice that, but he just noticed it.

 _She's just pretty…_

As Souji's eyes started to move back towards Yukiko's, the hostess said to him, "Can I help you choose a drink?"

 _A drink? Uhh… what?_

Souji had been so interested in looking at Yukiko, he had almost forgotten that he had no idea what he was doing with this whole hostess club business. He had forgotten that he was only here because Naoto had tricked him into choosing a girl. He had to focus on the simple fact that was something more important than a very pretty girl sitting in front of him.

Souji took a deep breath, and responded in the best way possible, "Actually, this is my first time here, so I'm not actually sure how everything here works." He took another breath. "Coming here was not really in my plans tonight, but it sort of just happened…"

Instead of looking frustrated, Yukiko gave a small smile in response to Souji's comment. She said softly, "Don't worry about it… It's not too often that we have someone… younger… attending this club." Yukiko put an emphasis on "younger".

 _I guess these girls have to entertain a lot of older guys._

Yukiko continued through Souji's thoughts, "To start…" She grabbed one of two menus supported in metal stands that had gone completely unnoticed by the young man because of his staring at her. She opened the menu, flipped it towards him, and handed it over. "This menu is the drink menu." She continued while he took the menu. "The other menu is the menu for food items."

 _Oh… I'm supposed to order something to drink…_

He looked down at the menu to see all sorts of various drinks, all but one of them alcoholic. There was all sorts of wine and beer, many kinds of sake, and various types of hard liquors. The amount of fruity alcoholic drinks was just plain silly. It also looked like you could order them in all sorts of volumes, from pint, to bottle, to glass. The only thing that was not alcoholic, was a glass of water. Souji thought it was probably for breaks between the booze. It was also the only thing that was free, since every item on the menu had a numerical amount below it, and the water was the only drink with a fat zero underneath. Every other drink was rather expensive, for obvious reasons of fleecing the customers.

 _Heh… I guess I'd be picking the alcohol after all. The alcohol… for myself._

Souji looked over the menu as he tried to decide what exactly he should be ingesting. He finally decided on a beer that he had never tried before. However, it looked like it would be an alright ale, so he would give a try. It could not be too bad. It had to be better than the stuff he would bring the party if he had attended the shindig.

After giving the order to Yukiko, she nodded, and then said, "Now, you order a drink for me…"

 _I have to order a drink for her… I don't know what she'd want, or what I'd want to order for her…_

He looked down at the menu again, and then looked at the girl with the waist-length, immaculate black hair. He said, "I don't really know what kind of drink you'd like…" He continued. "What sort of drink would you want?"

Yukiko's smile did not dissipate in the slightest at Souji's comment. She shifted her position slightly and said, "Not many people ask the hostess what kind of drink they want…" The small smile actually widened a tad as the black-haired girl added. "You get the occasional guy who tries to get one of us really drunk in a hurry, or some others who keep piling the alcohol on slowly. Some are sensible about the drinking, but almost everyone chooses our drinks for us."

 _Well…_

Souji had a good idea of what it all meant, but he still had no idea what he would order for the girl. He was definitely not going to try and get the girl drunk. He took a deep breath and said, "Why don't you decide what you want to drink?"

 _If I ever come back here again, I'll decide what she should have for a drink instead of having her decide… I'd probably just decide on what she chooses tonight…_

Yukiko nodded as Souji handed her the menu. After a moment or so of looking over the menu, she called over another hostess who was walking nearby and placed the drink order. She returned the drink menu back to the standing ring that also held the food menu. A minute or so later, his ale and a glass of red wine was delivered by a hostess who could not compare to the one sitting across from him. She also handed something that looked like a bill to Yukiko.

Souji watched Yukiko take the wine glass in her hand as the other hostess left. Again, he was left slightly confused as she took a sip of the wine. He knew he was supposed to make conversation with her, but he had no idea exactly what to talk about. He was not really sure what was appropriate for a first time meeting with a hostess, or what subjects were off-limits to begin with. The silver-haired young man had a limited amount of time, so he had to figure out what to talk about quickly, or he would be wasting his money.

 _It wouldn't be awful just to spend the whole time looking at her, but that's not the point of being here._

He fished around his brain for something to talk to Yukiko with. He decided to just start with something simple. Hopefully, it was something that would be appropriate to talk about with a hostess, especially on their first meeting.

Luckily for Souji, Yukiko again seemed to notice her client's apprehension. She smiled and said, "How your day's going?"

 _My day? Kinda cliché…_

Souji took a quick draught of his drink and answered, "Well… my day… up until the last thirty minutes or so, it's been pretty boring. Class and work took up my whole day until about now…"

"Class…?" Yukiko raised an eyebrow. "University?" When Souji nodded, she asked. "What are you in school for?"

 _Oh… so she's interested…_

"I'm an Engineering student…," Souji told her.

"Do you enjoy your studies?" Yukiko questioned.

Souji shrugged, "It's a lot better than the studies I did in high school. It was just too easy." Souji found himself telling the black-haired girl his real feelings. "It was extremely boring."

Yukiko nodded, "That must have been tough, but you have to be enjoying it more now, right?"

"Like I said, it's better than high school, but sometimes… it's hard to get motivated," Souji shrugged. "I guess I'm not really looking forward to going out to the workforce."

The girl across from Souji smiled slightly, "I hear that a lot. Well, not people not excited to go into the workforce. More… people who do not enjoy the daily grind of being in the routine of work. It's tough… I know."

 _Must be the people who visit here._

Souji nodded in appreciation. He did not want it to be a one-sided conversation, and he wanted to ask something that would not be too intrusive. He asked, "Are you in school, too?"

Yukiko again nodded, "I am… Not for anything as exciting as Engineering, though"

"I don't know if you could exactly call Engineering exciting," Souji told her. "I'm sure it's something pretty interesting."

Souji took a draft of his beer while Yukiko did the same with her wine. Souji kind of felt he could ask more probing questions, but he doubted it would be appropriate. He did kind of want to ask some of those questions. It was still nice though, to just sit there with Yukiko. He was not much of a drinker, and drinking around a very pretty girl was a much better alternative than getting trashed around Teddie and Yosuke.

With Souji's drink nearly gone, the pretty hostesses across from the silver-haired client looked at him and said, "Can I ask you a question?" Before Souji could give confirmation, Yukiko continued. "Don't university students usually have parties? I know you said it was an "accident" you ended up here, but I'm sure you had a party and a girl to go hang out with, right?"

 _She didn't let me answer… and ouch…_

"Well…" Souji took a deep breath and shifted his weight before giving a true answer to Yukiko's question. "I was supposed to go a friend's party today, but…"

"But…?" Yukiko looked at Souji inquisitively.

Souji finished his answer, "I got sidetracked picking up stuff for the party…"

"You found the PDHC?" Yukiko raised an eyebrow.

Souji nodded, "Something like that…" He added. "I'm too busy working for a girlfriend or anything like that." Souji raised an eyebrow, "Do many of the guys who come here have girlfriends or wives on the side?"

Yukiko gave Souji a look, "That's confidential information…"

 _Of course it is…_

"Sorry…," Souji apologized.

Yukiko lightly shook her head, "It's not a problem. If I expected you to know everything regarding the rules…"

"Well, now I know…," Souji told her.

Souji shifted in his seat as the two of them both finished their drinks. Souji finished his beer slightly before Yukiko finished her glass of wine. After Yukiko put her glass on the rectangular table, she looked back up from the glass to Souji and asked, "Do you want anything else to drink?"

 _If I get anything else to drink, then I have to buy her something to drink… I probably have to buy her something to drink anyways…_ _I don't she'd appreciate me trying to get drunk off her ass, though. It'd just be adding more to an overly expensive bill… meh…_

"I think I'll just have water…," Souji replied.

Yukiko followed up, "Do you want to order anything else for me?"

"I think unless you don't like water…. I just don't think I want someone else to drink a bunch," Souji had no idea how to word his statement without mentioning that he did not want a girl to drink too much.

Yukiko smiled again as she motioned to one of the other hostesses to bring two glasses of water. As the other unselected hostess left to get the drinks, Yukiko said, "I guess you're either a great guy that doesn't want to get the girl really tipsy, or you're thinking you're going to run out of money…"

Souji tried to give something close to a sly smile, "Can it be something close to both?"

"You're nice, but you're running low on money?" Yukiko raised an eyebrow.

"Something like that…," Souji agreed. "I'm young, remember…" He half-winked with his second statement.

"Hopefully you have enough money for tonight…," Yukiko told him.

 _I hope so too…_

The hostess came back with both of the waters and a slip of paper. The hostess hand a water to each Yukiko and Souji, and the paper to Yukiko. It did not seem quite the same, sharing glasses of water with his chosen hostess instead of wine and beer. However, he was still sitting across the table from a pretty black-haired girl who looked straight at him as the two drank their waters. He had to focus and steady himself not to get lost in her eyes. It was becoming more and more obvious the appeal for a lonely single man, or a bored older gentleman to visit this place. It was most likely really appealing for someone stuck in a dead-end job with no future.

 _I bet this place is rolling in dough…_

Souji bit his lip. He knew his time with Yukiko was just about over. Even as the thought started to cross his mind, Yukiko put her glass back down on the table and said to him, "I'm sorry, Souji. I'm afraid we're out of time for tonight." She added, "Unless you want to spend for some extra time?"

 _Where'd the time go? We didn't even talk that much. There was a lot of questions I could have, wish I could have, and wanted to ask… Did I spend more time looking at her than conversing with her? Does this happen to a lot of the guys who visit this place?_

Souji shook his head. He did not know how much extra time would cost, but he knew he would not be able to afford it. He answered, "I think I'll decline the extra time…"

Yukiko nodded and slid out of the comfy booth. She motioned for Souji to do the same. Souji maneuvered his way out of the way too comfy plush booth. He followed her back towards the front of the hall, back through to the burgundy-painted corridor with the wall lights, and towards the thick front doors that led back to Naoto, the doorperson.

When the pair reached a spot a few steps away from the doors, Yukiko stopped, which led Souji to stop a step behind her. He shifted slightly as he looked down from her black hair to her dark brown eyes. Yukiko in turn looked straight at him while smoothing out her maid-like uniform.

 _I guess this is just about it…_

Yukiko held out her hand to Souji. It contained the two slips that were handed to Yukiko while the other hostesses were handing them the two drinks. When Souji took the slips of paper, Yukiko said to him, "Hand those to the doorperson up front and you can pay your bill…"

 _Naoto, I'm guessing…_

"Got it…," Souji said as he took the bills from Yukiko.

Souji shifted uneasily. He guessed he was just supposed to leave, but it felt awkward breaking eye contact with her. Souji did not like farewells to be like business transactions, even if he was a pretty solemn fellow.

Regardless of his feelings, Souji started to turn away from Yukiko, and towards the doors. Before he could completely turn towards the door, Yukiko interrupted with a smile, "I hope you enjoyed your time here tonight, and I hope you come back."

 _It's probably a statement they're told to say… but it'd be nice she meant she actually meant that she wanted "me" to come back. I wonder if guys take the statement to heart, and think she really wants to see them again._

"We'll see…," Souji said with honesty. "It's not something I could afford every day."

"Then come see me every once in a while," Yukiko winked. "Like… once a week…?"

 _They really have them push it… advertising… like they need to… the girls are pretty enough as is._

"I highly doubt you'd need to try and convince many guys to come here with needless sweet talk." Souji decided to voice his mistrust. "You're pretty enough to keep guys coming back without any extra work."

Souji was not sure how Yukiko took his words. He just did not know how to express his concerns in a subtle way. All he knew was that it was that if they really were supposed to try and convince people to come back, using statements was unnecessary.

Souji closed his eyes for a second. When he opened his eyes, he saw a slight tinge of crimson on Yukiko's face. Yukiko said to him in a softer voice than she had used earlier, "I appreciate the compliment." She quickly steadied herself as she questioned Souji. "I cannot comment on the policies of our company. However, you do know that I am my own person, right?"

 _Well, of course…_

"I'm aware of that…," Souji said. He nodded his head very slightly. "I'm not trying to offend in one way or another."

"I didn't think you meant to," Yukiko tried not to let any crimson touch her cheeks. "I was in the belief that your inexperience with this sort of endeavor might hinder what you wanted to accomplish."

 _What I wanted to accomplish? How would I know what to accomplish? It's not like I had a dream to find out your bust size or something…_

Yukiko continued through Souji's thoughts, "I would think you would want to come back… to you know… actually converse… and spend less time staring at me."

 _That did cut down on the time we actually spoke…_

"We didn't actually talk much, did we?" Souji reiterated his thoughts.

Yukiko said, "I thought someone like you might want to spend another session in the future to get to know me better."

 _Know her better?_

"Is that you talking? Or is it the PDHC?" Souji raised an eyebrow.

Yukiko replied, "The proper thing to say is that I should always be working to bring you back for the good of the PDHC. However, is it wrong to say that I feel like did not have enough time to get to know each other in one session?"

 _But at these prices?_

Souji pursed his lips slightly, "I see what you mean. Even if you feel that way, I have to learn it in a fashion… that's… well… it might be a while till we get to know each other better."

Yukiko fashioned yet another smile, "As long as you don't forget… or go Hostess Hopping…"

"Hostess Hopping?" Souji looked confused.

"When you decide to switch hostesses because you get bored with, or you start finding your current hostess unattractive…," Yukiko explained.

 _What if I come here and you're not available?_

"I'd have to do my best to not choose anyone else, even when you're not available, or here…," Souji shrugged at the last part.

"If I'm not here…," Yukiko stretched out her words, sounding slightly nervous. "Just be careful… there's some dangerous girls who can snare you…"

 _Dangerous girls… I know one… her name is Yukiko._

"Okay, okay…," Souji affirmed Yukiko's words. He took a breath. "I'm holding up your work. I should go."

"Have a good night, Souji…," Yukiko said to Souji as he turned and opened the thick-set doors back to where Naoto waited at the lectern.

As Souji stepped back into the multi-arched area in-front of the PDHC, he walked next to the doorperson, Naoto. He turned around to face Naoto, pulled out the two bills that Yukiko handed him, and said, "I was told to give these to you."

Naoto took the pair of bills, looked down a paper list for his name, and checked it off when he found it. After compiling everything on the docket, Naoto looked up to Souji and said, "It's going to cost 15,000 yen."

 _15,000! You have to be kidding… I should have bought another drink… but that would have just costed me more money._

Souji sighed. It would be a long time before he visited Yukiko again. If he ever did come back. If she really did want him to come back. He begrudgingly pulled out his wallet, pulled out his money, and handed out the money to the door-person. It was way too much to spend for such a short amount of time with a pretty girl.

Along with a receipt, Naoto handed Souji a card that had a bronze-ish color, "Hope you enjoyed your time at the Persona Dream Hostesses Club. Welcome to the Bronze Level."

 _Woo… Bronze Level…_

"Thanks…," Souji replied in a lackluster tone.

Naoto nodded, "Hope to see you again soon…"

Souji muttered as he turned around, "Right…"

As Souji left the intricate architecture and the fancy lights of the Persona Dream Hostesses Club behind him, he could only wonder what he had gotten himself into, and what he was going to say to his friends the next time he saw them.

* * *

 _ **Next Chapter:**_

 _ **Chapter 3: The Time Between Discoveries**_

It has been how long since I have posted anything, anywhere? I am getting kind of tired, so we will see how it goes. I rushed the last half of this chapter, but hopefully it is not too awful.

Thanks for reading…


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